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Saturday, April 5, 2014

“Grimmerson Manor” is a horror thriller that has guests, stranded in a remote hotel during a wind storm, face an unknown killer. Vegas based production company Strong Image Films has announced their purchase of the film rights to the story, to be directed by Rob Marchitti. “Grimmerson Manor” was written by Vicky L Neal.

A mysterious killer targets a remote hotel during the slow time of year, picking off the staff and guests one-by-one. By the time Cassie realizes what takes place, she finds herself having to fight fire with fire in order to stop the madman and survive to see dawn.

In this Twilight Zone-esque tale of the afterlife, two bus crash survivors wake from a coma to discover that they are the only inhabitants of a small American town. Scarier still, a monstrous cloud is swallowing the area, closing in on them slowly but surely. Are they dead? In an alternate dimension or is it all a dream? As the couple scavenge houses and attempt to find a way out, they soon learn that they are not alone. Inside the mist are ravenous creatures hell bent on preventing their escape.

“After” received its UK premiere at FrightFest and London Sci-Fi Film Festival before traveling the world festival circuit where it picked up several awards including Best Special Effects at Fancine Malaga. The Canadian release is scheduled for May 13th through Mongrel Media with US distribution penciled for July.

Fortuna Publica is an aspect of the Roman Goddess of Luck, Fate, and Chance, Fortuna. As Fortuna Publica She ensures the luck of the populice or state, and is a complimentary idea to Fortuna Privata, the Luck of the Individual.

Fortuna Publica was honored with temples on the Quirinal Hill in Rome in the neighborhood named for them tres Fortunae, "the Three Fortunas". At least two of those three temples were to Fortuna Publica; one was to Fortuna Primigenia, whose full title in Rome was Fortuna Publicae Populi Romani, "the Luck of the Roman People"; another was to Fortuna Publica Citerior (citerior meaning "nearer", probably because it was closer to the center of the city); there is not much known of the third temple to Fortuna. Some identify it as again belonging to Fortuna Primigenia, but it's possible that it too was dedicated to Fortuna Publica. The first temple had as its festival date the 25th of May, and the one to Fortuna Publica Citerior the 5th of April.

Fortuna Publica was sometimes known as Fortuna Populi Romani, the "Luck of the Roman People"; under this name She had an altar way up on Hadrian's Wall, at the fort of Vindolana, at the modern Chesterholm in Northumberland, England.

Friday, April 4, 2014

The shockingly, gory comedy short “Fist Of Jesus” is getting the feature film treatment-well with the help of fans and the crowd funding site Kickstarter. ‘The Once Upon A Time In Jerusalem’ campaign has 28 days left before this wicked and wild little flick’ time is up. “Fist Of Jesus” comes from The Alkeme Company and considering how well fans took to the short I am sure there will be no chance in Hell this film will not be damning us all on the big screen in full feature awesomeness. The short film rained down with awards during the film’s festival run.

David Muñoz & Adrián Cardona write and direct “Fist Of Jesus” , a film that proves not all Bible stories have to suck-with a little spin of course. “Once Upon A Time in Jerusalem” tells the adventures of Jesus and Judas in a world full of Zombies, Demons, post-apocalyptic Punks, Mutants, Cowboys, the Roman Army, Monsters, Mythological Creatures and Steampunk technology in the 80s style.

After wiping out an entire village whilst trying to raise Lazarus, Jesus decides to go to the Oracle of Delphos for advice. The witches reveal to him that he must go on a perilous journey. He recruits twelve ruthless mercenaries, and sets off, ready to burn his name into the pages of history.

Also in case you haven’t seen the short film “Fist Of Jesus, check it out over on the film’s campaign page. Don’t forget to head over to the “Fist Of Jesus” Facebook page to show some love. I can’t wait to see this shit happen and in my movie collection. Hell it ain’t no more out of step that the story already being told .

Check out the “Megafoot” tracking installation video released for the upcoming horror/action/sci-fi/creature feature. Yeah this film works it all with one killer Cyborg-Squatch story. “Megafoot” has been working a crowd funding campaign over on Indiegogo with time ticking down. There are less than 65 hours left for the campaign.

The film is directed by Writer/Director Rolfe Kanefsky with creature effects provided by Vincent J. Guastini who’s list of accomplishments are insane, working on such films as “Dogma”, “Virus”, “The Toxic Avenger Part III”, “The Devil’s Carnival” and so many more killer films-not to mention the recent revision Santa slasher “Silent Night”.

“Megafoot” is a top-secret killing monstrosity (half Machine, half Bigfoot, all Terror!), which has recently escaped from the highly covert laboratory where it was created. An elite squad of soldiers has been sent to track and destroy the sadistic sasquatch before it wreaks its horrific vengeance on the human race. Expect violence, suspense, creative kills and gore-soaked thrills in a movie that’s bigger than big… it’s MEGAFOOT!

“We wanted to show the world what the MEGAFOOT creature was capable of,” explained Justin Martell. “With only five days of the campaign left, we felt it was important to reiterate that the more people contribute to our Indiegogo campaign, the more we can achieve with a practical F/X cyborg sasquatch.”
The new promo video is a taste of things to come should they continue to receive support from their fans. So check it out below and head over to the Indiegogo campaign to check out all the perks and even more details on “Megafoot”. Plus go to the film’s Facebook page to stay up on the progress of this megabeast.

Today, April 4th, is the Megalesia-the festival to the great mother Goddess, Cybele. Cybele is considered the original Earth Goddess, she has a possible precursor in the earliest neolithic at Çatalhöyük (in the Konyaregion) where the statue of a pregnant goddess seated on a lion throne was found in a granary. She is Phrygia's only known goddess, and was probably its state deity. Her Phrygian cult was adopted and adapted by Greek colonists of Asia Minor and spread from there to mainland Greece and its more distant western colonies from around the 6th century BCE.

The Megalesia festival to Magna Mater commenced on April 4, the anniversary of Cybele’s arrival in Rome. The festival lasted for six days, the mood of this festival, like that of the whole month in which it took place, was full of general rejoicings and feasting. It was usual for the wealthy Romans on this occasion to invite one another mutually to formal meals, and the extravagant habits and the good living during these festive days were probably carried to a very high level.

Cybele as the thirteenth deity of an otherwise symmetrical, classic Greco-Roman zodiac, in which each of twelve zodiacal houses (represented by particular constellations) is ruled by one of twelve deities, known in Greece as the Twelve Olympians and in Rome as the Di Consentes. Manilius has Cybele and Jupiter as co-rulers of Leo (the Lion), in astrological opposition to Juno, who rules Aquarius. Modern scholarship remarks that as Cybele's Leo rises above the horizon, Taurus (the Bull) sets; the lion thus dominates the bull.

Some of the possible Greek models for Cybele's Megalensia festival include representations of lions attacking and dominating bulls. The festival date coincided, more or less, with events of the Roman agricultural calendar (around April 12) when farmers were advised to dig their vineyards, break up the soil, sow millet "and - curiously apposite, given the nature of the Mother's priests - castrate cattle and other animals.

The Oracle of Delphi brought Cybele to Rome, so the act of divining the future is associated with her. Pay tribute to the all-powerful Goddess today. Follow the noisy precedent established by her worshipers over two thousand years ago and clash some cymbals, shake a tambourine, or bang a drum as you invoke the Great Mother.

Indie horror “Play Hooky: Innocence Lost” has launched the film’s Facebook page today. The film follows Rosie Delgado, the lone survivor of the brutal "Play Hooky Murders," who suffers from post-traumatic dissociative disorder in a state run mental health facility until budget-cuts transfers criminally-insane Charles "Buddy" DeWitt, the convicted "Play Hooky" killer, from his correctional institute to her psych-ward. . .then the real nightmare begins.

“Play Hooky: Innocence Lost” is directed by Frank S. Petrilli and stars Kim Kleemichen, Tom Petrone, Vinny Bernardo, Chris Paul Kelley, Katie Hodges, Daniela Rivera, Marta Coppola and Bob Waters. Be sure to head over and show the film some love. Hit The film’s title above to go to the page.

Check out the first teaser for the return of ‘True Blood’. The promo tantalizes the finality of the series and our beloved Bon Temp crew. The Seventh season of ‘True Blood’ premieres June 22 at 9PM .

This season of ‘True Blood’ will offer an assortment of new characters, as well as the dysfunctional family of Sarah Newlin. Lafayette gets a new beau, the thrills and drama this season has humans healthy vampires banding together to fight the Hep V infected vamps.

"House of Manson" chronicles Charles Manson's life from his childhood up until his arrest following the raid on Barker Ranch months after the infamous Tate/LaBianca murders that sent a shockwave not just through Los Angeles, but through the entire world.

MTV has been busy developing the upcoming ‘Scream’ TV series. They have released a first detailed description of the main characters for the series. Check it out below. I am stoked for this because what MTV has done with ‘Teen Wolf’ is sick. I have been obsessed with that series since day one. I imagine the network will do the same with ‘Scream’ adaptation. Casting is about to start for the characters and hopefully the pilot will rock and shock causing the network to churn out the full series and once more have me addicted to their sick shit! Awesome…(FYI..I am still screaming for the return of ‘Death Valley’, the damn thing ended on a cliff hanger and I am on the edge…)
Anyway back to ‘Scream’, read the details and see what you think of the characters.

[via TVLine] Harper Duval: A 16-year-old beauty “who’s a little too introverted and intellectual to be a social butterfly” but has nevertheless been annointed by the popular crowd to be one of their own. “She feels guilty that she has drifted away from former best friend Audrey,” but at least she’s got a Gilmore Girls-esque relationship with mom Maggie to keep her sane.

Audrey Jesen: Haper’s former BFF is described as “the bi-curious daughter of a Lutheran pastor” who’s “more arresting-looking than pretty.” This “artsy loner” dreams of being a filmmaker and shares a close bond with tech genius Noah.

Noah Foster: Audrey’s closest confidante is “creative, brilliant and tech-savvy enough to be the next Steve Jobs.” Lucky for him, he’s got a great sense of humor (“a la John Cusack in his teen prime”) that helps him navigate the halls of his high school. What’s more, Noah possesses “an encyclopedic knowledge of books, films, TV, apps, etc.”

Margaret “Maggie” Duval: Harper’s mom, in her early to mid-40s, is the town’s medical examiner, “a grown-up science geek who plays down her beauty.” Maggie spends a lot of her time trying to make up for the fact that Harper’s dad abandoned them. Oh, and she’s harboring “a dark secret from her past.”

Check out the awesome saucesome cover art for Scream Factory’s release of horror satire “Motel Hell”. The Factory announced the release as August 12th for the Blu-ray/DVD combo with pre-order set for May at the following link: http://www.shoutfactory.com/screamfactory. Along with the availability of the disc there will be an 18X24 poster.

“It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent fritters!” cackle the brother-and-sister team behind the finest smoked meats in the county. They also run the friendly Motel Hello (the ‘o’ in the neon sign sometimes goes on the blink), and no matter how many times you’ve seen Psycho or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, you can be sure that everything will be perfectly above board here as Vincent’s brother Bruce is the local sheriff.

Directed by Kevin Connor (maker of much-loved British genre classics The Land That Time Forgot and Warlords of Atlantis) and with legendary DJ Wolfman Jack as a fire-and-brimstone TV preacher, this is a gleefully twisted horror-comedy that climaxes with a showstopping chainsaw duel.” “Motel Hell” stars Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod.

“Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” is the flag-ship of a “Paranormal Activity” spin-off franchise. The film is directed by Christopher Landon and stars Andrew Jacobs, Jorge Diaz, Gabrielle Walsh, Richard Cabral, Gloria Sandoval, Carlos Pratts, Catherine Toribio, Juan Vasquez, Molly Ephraim, Katie Featherston, and Micah Sloat. “The Marked Ones” brings the paranormal to a new zip code, adding some supernatural beliefs from the Latino point-of-view, as well the “bruja”.

The story revolves around an apartment community’s residentss, Jesse who, after purchasing a video camera finds more than he wanted when the reclusive lady in the apartment below his dies a violent death. The neighbor was a bruja and soon after her passing some strange things begin to happen with Jesse and his friends. It doesn’t help that young friends experiment with magic for themselves to test the bruja’s practices.

Now I personally found this film a bit boring. For nearly half of the film very little supernatural happens. It was like watching candid vid clips of ordinary peoples through daily humdrum affairs. Your basic dares, shenanigans, and trivial banter permeate the screen. I had to keep reminding myself to be patient and that this is a paranormal “horror” film. The paranormal finally kicks in on the film, at first having more similarities to “Chronicles” than evil spirits, utilizing the standard special effects tricks, however it soon gets into the normal groove of paranormal. The story is a strong concept that just seems to get cluttered with half hearted direction. One cool thing about the film was the cast’s ability to make the drama, banter and interaction on screen seem genuine. The dialog maintain a constant fluidity from start to finish. There is a mild sense of inability to sell the paranormal fright from a couple of the actors when the crap hits the fan but it is minimal and soon the cast is back in sync.

The effects and music score are standard, expectable tricks of the trade which keep “The Marked Ones” in pace with the original “Paranormal Activity” series. The atmosphere does get a little creepy but I never really felt any chills or thrills. The film really falls flat in the horror department. I can’t remember any scene where I jumped, or cringed from the fright intended pieces to this film. Again the story is a nice, fresh spin that highlights a normalized slice of life in an area of society most people don’t see. Plus I love me some bruja heritage highlighted in horror or film in general. “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” is a fail in my opinion but the audience that loved the original franchise will probably like this film as well. I do need to add that the concept of personalized, in-hand, video documentary style for this film does more to help the whole found footage subgenre than hurt it.

Check out the official poster released for dystopian horror film “Chrysalis”. The film is directed by John Klein from a script written by Ben Kurstin. It stars Sara Gorsky, Cole Simon, Tanya Thai McBride, Clayton Stamper.

Chrysalis is a post-apocalyptic horror film, set 25 years after a biological terrorist attack unleashes a virus upon the world, transforming much of humanity into vicious creatures and laying waste to civilization. The remnants and survivors have staggered about for years, as the "infected" slowly starve and die off. Our story follows Joshua (Cole Simon) and Penelope (Sara Gorsky), two such survivors who have banded together in the hope of rescuing others and hopefully rebuilding civilization. When they encounter Abira, the lone survivor of another group, their worlds and goals are irrevocably altered, and they must face new and terrifying challenges if they are to survive.

Check out the first trailer released for Dutch produced action/fantasy film “Labyrinthus”. The film is directed by Douglas Boswell and stars Spencer Bogaert, Emma Verlinden, Felix Maesschalck, Pepijn Caudron, Herwig Ilegems, Tine Embrechts. “Labyrinthus” has a theatrical release set for Belgium on July 2, 2014. This is a family film and there is no word when the film will hit U.S. shores.

Frikke, a 14-year-old boy, discovers a computer game that is being played with real children, uploaded in the game's labyrinth. In a race against time, he starts to search for the evil creator of this horrible game.

A little girl’s brother kills their whole family but her (she escapes by hiding in the basement). He is committed, and she grows up with a new family, eventually going to college, where she joins a sorority. Due to a memory block, she doesn’t remember that the sorority house was her childhood house. Her brother senses her presence in the house and escapes so he can finish the job he was unable to complete.

Check out the two new clips released for upcoming horror “Jinn”. The film is directed by Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad and stars Dominic Rains (“Flight 93”), Serinda Swan (USA’s “Graceland”), Ray Park (“Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace”), Faran Tahir (“Elysium”) and William Atherton (“Die Hard”).

In the beginning, three were created. Man made of clay. Angels made of light. And a third made of fire. For centuries, stories of angels and men have captured the imagination and been etched into history crossing all boundaries of culture, religion and time. These two races have dominated the landscape of modern mythology, shrouding the evidence that a third was ever created. This third race, born of smokeless fire, was named the jinn. Modern man has all but forgotten this third race ever existed. It is time for him to remember…

The follow up to the modern cult fave “The Dead” has struck a distribution deal. Anchor Bay has picked up “The Dead 2: India” for U.S. release. The film directed by Howard J. Ford, Jonathan Ford and stars Joseph Millson, Meenu Mishra, Anand Krishna Goyal, Sandip Datta Gupta. Read the details below.

Press Release: Anchor Bay Films has acquired the rights to the award-winning film The Dead 2: India, the highly-anticipated follow-up to the company’s 2012 release of The Dead. Written and directed by Howard J. Ford and Jon Ford (Mainline Run, Distant Shadow, The Dead), stars Joseph Millson (Casino Royale, Enid) in this critically-acclaimed epic zombie road movie. The company has acquired the theatrical, home entertainment, digital and VOD rights for the U.S. and Canada. The announcement was made today by Bill Clark, President of Anchor Bay Entertainment.
“We’re thrilled to be releasing the next film in the Ford Brothers’ films,” commented Kevin Kasha, Head of Acquisitions for Starz. “We had a great experience on the first film and are looking forward to offering audiences another round of The Dead.”Set against the spectacular vistas and stunning scenery of Rajasthan, known as The Land of the Kings and one of the world’s first and oldest civilizations, The Dead 2: India puts the Ford Brothers’ unique apocalyptic vision on a far bigger canvas in terms of breathtaking scope, thrilling action, death-defying stunts, emotional resonance and spine-tingling fright.“We really enjoyed working with Kevin and the rest of the Anchor Bay team on The Dead,” stated Amir Moallemi, Executive Producer of The Dead 2: India. “We felt they did an amazing job which resulted in the film becoming a top selling title in 2012. With The Dead 2: India, Anchor Bay was the natural choice for us. We have made an even bigger, more epic movie which we cannot wait to share with the fans.”A ship docks fresh from Somalia which contains one infected worker that passes unnoticed into the very heart of India’s overpopulated bustling streets, setting off an unstoppable chain of events. Meanwhile, American turbine engineer Nicholas Burton (Millson) is working in the peaceful stunning Indian countryside when he receives a call from his love, a local girl who lives on the outskirts of the slums of Mumbai. She reveals she is now pregnant and scared for her life as chaos and terror have taken ahold of the cities as the dead return to life and attack the living. Nicholas has to battle his way across their 300 mile distance, all of which is ferociously infected. With the help of a young street kid, he has to rely on his wits and sheer brute force to try and save them all.Widely regarded as one of the most popular of all the recently made zombie films, The Dead has enjoyed international praise, critical acclaim and success since its initial release a few years ago. The film was the first horror film entirely filmed in Africa. It was only fitting that the next stop be another first for the genre; India, where the challenges of filming a horror film are as unique as the dramatic setting.

"I, Frankenstein" is a modern re-invention of one of literature's most fascinating characters, Frankenstein's Monster. A character that dominates the screen in almost every film that features him. "I, Frankenstein" manages to meld the monster creatively into a new saga based on an old world spiritual concept of good and evil and humanity and all that is right and balanced in the cosmos. Yea I know that last statement seems a bit much but the struggle of good and evil and maintaining balance has fueled culture since the beginning of civilization. I imagine one of the food sources was probably hallucinogenic and our concept of the world just echoed from that first moment of existentialism. Anyway back to the film "I, Frankenstein"...

The story that Stuart Beattie and Kevin Grevioux give us is a standard saga that has planned out in many a film, television drama and game. The dark lord of infinite evil sets forth to consume all the world and bring back the age of chaos. The truth and light of the universe battle the evil to keep order and protect humanity. It is a great epic drama filled with plenty of action, passion and spectacle fit for a gamer. I just feel the story may be a bit "monochrome". "I, Frankenstein" works as an elaborate blast of high theatricals and it did justify my expense for a theatre quality sound system. The film just lacked feeling, and connectivity. I didn't feel the characters. Just as the Monster lacked a soul but still managed to be fueled by a passionate rage, "I, Frankenstein" was without soul. The difference is unlike the Monster, this film lacked the passionate fuel that the story demanded. It was like watching an intro to some video game story sequence. It was a really good story, creative and all. I just didn't find the depth of character that would make me connect with the film.

The effects where what one would expect in this "big popcorn", wall rattling spectacle. The CGI was tight, I did feel that it was a bit too much. Like "Van Helsing", "I, Frankenstein" relied heavily on the CGI which stripped the film down to a "basic", going through the emotions action film. That sort of anchor creates a disconnect from the organic feeling, and natural flow of character interaction on a personal level that allows the audience to really connect with, not only the characters and story, but also the heart and intent of what the writer and directer are aiming for. "I, Frankenstein" is a 50/50 film for me. Yeah the movie brings the action and excitement. It is entertaining-especially with a Sony theater system that can rattle the walls and windows but so much seemed to be missing and at times I found my self wondering of in thoughts and kind of bored.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Joon-ho Bong’s “Snowpiercer” will finally make get a U.S. premiere. The sci-fi thriller will open the 20th annual L.A. Film Festival before its wider release on June 27th . “Snowpiercer” stars Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Alison Pill, John Hurt, Ed Harris, Song Kang-ho, and Octavia Spencer. The L.A. Film Festival takes place from June 11th to June 19th.

Set in a future where a failed experiment to stop global warming creates an ice age that kills off all life on the planet except for the inhabitants of the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe and is powered by a sacred perpetual-motion engine. A class system evolves on the train, but a revolution brews.

New Image from Bong Joon-Ho's Snowpiercer Features a Bald Tilda Swinton.

Check out the first official image from sci-fi action comedy film “Turbo Kid”. The film is adapted from the short film “T Is For Turbo”, which entered to be apart of “ABC’s Of Death 2” but didn’t make it in. The short garnered enough interest, not only for feature adaptation, but enough support that a distribution deal is already inked. Read the deets below.

Press Release: Producers Anne-Marie Gélinas, Benoît Beaulieu, Ant Timpson and Tim Riley are delighted to announce the official start of production in Montreal of the film Turbo Kid, a Canada (EMAfilms) and New Zealand (T&A Films) co-production.The Montreal Collective known as Road Kill Super Star (RKSS) – Anouk Whissell, François Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell – co-wrote the original script and are also co-directing the post-apocalyptic action comedy.Téléfilm Canada and the New Zealand Film Commission are funding partners while Canadian wunderkind Jason Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun, ABCs of Death) jumped at the chance to wield his genre-busting hands as Executive Producer. Turbo Kid will be distributed in Quebec by Filmoption International (Gerontophilia, Rock Paper Scissors), in the rest of Canada by Raven Banner (John Dies at the End, Cabin Fever: Patient 0) and in the USA by Epic Pictures Group (V/H/S, Big Ass Spider). Epic Pictures Group is also the film’s international Sales Agent.Fuelled by offbeat humor with lashings of action and gore Turbo Kid stars the iconic Michael Ironside (Starship Troopers, Scanners) as Zeus, Munro Chambers (Degrassi – The Next Generation, Cracked) as The Kid, Laurence Leboeuf (19-2, Trauma) as Apple, Aaron Jeffery (X-Men Origins) as Frederic, Edwin Wright (Top of the Lake) as Skeletron and Romano Orzari (Omertà) as Bagu.In a post-apocalyptic parallel future of 1997, an orphaned teenager called The Kid scavenges the Wasteland searching for relics from a better time (the 80s). During one of his expeditions he meets Apple, a mysterious girl with a rather large secret. As their relationship deepens, they accidentally run afoul of Zeus, the self-proclaimed leader of the Wasteland. Zeus, a sadistically droll maniac who murdered The Kid’s parents, now controls the Wasteland’s most precious commodity: fresh water. When Zeus’ gang kidnaps Apple, The Kid joins forces with Frederick, the laconic leader of the legendary Arm-Wrestling Clan. Armed with little more than blind faith and an ancient turbo-charged weapon, The Kid must fulfill his ultimate destiny: destroy Zeus, avenge his parents’ death and get the girl of his dreams.When RKSS, Eisener, EMAfilms and T&A Films met at the Fantasia Film Festival’s Frontières International Co-Production Market in July 2012, lightning struck and they became Team Turbo. Their destiny? A Canada/New Zealand co- production that would defy all the rules and set a new bar for splatter comedies.At its core, Turbo Kid is a hyper-aware slice of hybrid pop-entertainment. One that draws inspiration from Italian post-apocalyptic epics, Peter Jackson splatter comedies, the Mad Max trilogy and 80s fad movies like Thrashin’ yet manages to transform from mere homage to become something completely unique and genuine to the world of genre film.

Check out the new poster released for “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes”. The poster has the Chimpanzee family feel like that Animal doc that came out awhile back. The nurturing protective side of Caesar and that adorable little tike has me really rooting for the Apes! “Dawn…” hits theatres on July 11th. Watch the first clip for the film here!

The U.S. trailer has been released for Greg McLean’s “Wolf Creek 2”. The film will be available VOD on April 17th, 2014 and stars John Jarratt, Shannon Ashlyn, Ryan Corr, and Philippe Klaus.

Lured by the promise of an Australian holiday, backpackers Rutger, Katarina, and Paul visit the notorious Wolf Creek Crater. Their dream Outback adventure soon becomes a horrific reality when they encounter the site’s most infamous local, the last man any traveler to the region ever wants to meet; Mick Taylor (John Jarratt).As the backpackers flee, Mick pursues them on an epic white knuckled rampage across hostile wasteland. Only one will remain to be dragged back to his lair to witness the true magnitude of his monstrosity. And if the last man standing is to have any hope of surviving where no one else has survived before, he’ll have to use every ounce of cunning to outwit the man behind the monster and become every bit as ruthless as the monster inside the man.

Monday, March 31, 2014

The crowd funding campaign is underway for Chris Smith’s “The Woods Within” . The indie horror a modern day slasher story with murder mystery elements and the campaign is set up over at Indiegogo. The film is set to star Tyler Riley, Tori Ahr, Ty Binegar, Clay Orem, Jon Kovach, Shane Jossart, Hannah Herdt, Courtney Smith, Joel Liles and Marla Van Lanen.

Eight high school teenagers go to the woods to have a party before graduation. They have one hell of a great time until one of their own is found dead the next morning. Tempers flare and fingers are pointed as no one is sure who to blame. It quickly escalates into a race for their lives as danger is everywhere in the woods within.

Check out the latest video update for upcoming indie horror “Don’t Fuck In The Woods”. The creature feature is currently running a crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo. “DFITW” is being produced by Concept Media and directed by Shawn Burkett.

A group of friends are going on a camping trip to celebrate graduating college. But once they enter the woods, the proverbial shit starts to hit the fan!

Pre-production has began for PP&B Productions horror film “Bad Moon” in association with Brand-B Co and Blood, Sweat & Glitter Production. “Bad Moon” is set to be directed by Dan Brownlie (Three’s A Shroud, Serial Kaller, Dead Magazines).

The film is a found footage horror stars Dani Thompson (Serial Kaller, Christmas Slay, Zombie Women Of Satan 2) and Jessica Ann Bonner (Devil’s Tower, Valley Of The Witch, Christmas Slay), Ivo Dinkov, Brad Glen, Dan Abrams and Shane Salter. Details on principal photography, expected release date have not been made known at this time.

Synopsis:
The film follows Scream Team, a successful UK TV show that investigates paranormal stories and occurrences in search of the truth behind the stories. In the series the girls, a bit skeptical, are use to dealing with situations set up by the show producers for that supernatural edge. Then increasing fatalities take place in a small Bulgarian village so the girls along with the show’s crew jump on a plane to investigate the happenings in the village. The villagers, scared, offers the show’s producer, James, a large sum of money to investigate in order to get to the truth.

I have said it before and I will say it again-The Planet Of The Apes reboot is one of the best things ever! Check out the first TV spot for “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” . The film hits theatres on July 11th and continues the ever evolving new world after Caesar kick-starts ape evolution with a little human scientific advancement. “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” stars Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis, Jocko Sims, Judy Greer and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.

Anthony Fankhauser directed “Rise Of The Dinosaurs” also known as Jurassic Attack, has a DVD release date set. The sci-fi/creature feature will hit shelves on June 17th, 2014. The film stars Gary Stretch, Corin Nemec, and Vernon Wells. “Rise Of The Dinosaurs” is available for pre-order at Amazon.com thanks to Gaiam.

Commando squad reflects a hostage at the hands of terrorist Marquez, but their helicopter is shot down and falls into unexplored valleys. How quickly it is inhabited by dinosaurs, for which soldiers are tasty morsel.

From the Scream Factory Facebook Page:“We are very thrilled to report that we are bringing Greydon Clark’s 1980 alien/slasher cult classic WITHOUT WARNING to DVD & Blu-ray for the first time this August! This long-overdue release has been requested several times since we started the brand so we know many of you just jumped for joy. (We’re jumping too!) What makes this even more exciting is that this title has never been released on ANY home entertainment format in the U.S. or Canada (and is often bootlegged as some of you can attest to) so to be able to bring this out period is a feat in itself.No further details to report back at this time but we’ll keep you posted on developments in a few months. The artwork you see – which uses the original theatrical poster – is final.(However, the flipside will have the other poster art some of you may remember with a girl running from flying alien discs.)”

Press Release: MPI/Dark Sky Films, one of the leading distributors of independent and genre films, announced today they will be releasing a restored version of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic.The re-release comes in celebration of the film’s 40th anniversary with the restoration having its unveiling at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, next week.In 1973 Tobe Hooper, a cast of unknown actors, and a crew of Austin film students and recent graduates headed to Round Rock, Texas, in the middle of July. For the next 32 days they worked around the clock in 100-degree weather to make The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The movie became a huge hit on the drive-in circuit and eventually grossed $30 million. It was invited to the 1975 Cannes Film Festival Director’s Fortnight and was acquired as part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Since then it has become the eighth highest-grossing horror franchise of all time. In 2012 Sight & Sound magazine named it one of the 250 most important movies ever made.The new version of the film will be released in theaters this summer with a brand new 4K transfer, roughly four times the resolution of today’s more commonly used 2K for cinema. This is the only transfer of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to go back to the original 16mm A/B rolls, the actual film that rolled through the cameras.The restoration of the film, overseen by Todd Wieneke of Dark Sky Films, took place at NOLO Digital Film in Chicago with the use of an ARRISCAN Film Scanner.Taking 5 months of 40-hour workweeks to complete the color grading and the restoration, NOLO engineer Boris Seagraves stated, “This film probably needed the most restoration of any project we’ve done.”Having been shot on less expensive 16mm film stock and cheaper, tougher “reversal” stock (which means there is no negative), the restoration started by taking the original 16mm film that rolled through the cameras and transferred all 120,960 frames to a 4K scan.Scratches, film stains, chemical stains, dirt, torn perforations, rips in the film image, and glue splices had to go through a painstaking correction process frame by frame. “There were hundreds, if not thousands, of instances where you’d find a splice mark cooked into the middle of a frame. Some frames would have close to two hundred dirt events on them. We also spent a lot of time stabilizing the image. When doing a digital scan of a conformed 16mm print with a splice at every cut, it can be tough to achieve the high standards we all aspire to in the era of digital cinema. What might have passed as acceptable in the 70′s looks jarring now. So we worked hard to smooth out the tremors that almost inevitably occur when scanning this type of film element. There were tears in the film that we had to digitally rebuild from adjacent frames. There were tens of thousands of things we were dealing with”, said Seagraves.Estimating that he spent about 50 hours on the color correction alone, NOLO Colorist Michael Matusek used a previous transfer of the film that had been supervised by Tobe Hooper as his guide to a rough color correction. Tobe Hooper then gave notes on this roughly timed version, and the process of adjusting the color began.Hooper, who helped score the film and did the sound design, was also deeply involved with the audio restoration.Todd Wieneke stated, “I’ve seen the film literally frame by frame, and I’m still hearing and seeing things I never noticed before… it just adds a whole different level.” Matusek added, “This 4K scan delivers such an intense reality that it feels like you’re really seeing through the film to the actual world behind it.”Tobe Hooper stated, “I haven’t seen The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on the big screen for many, many years. This 40th anniversary restoration is absolutely the best the film has ever looked. The color and clarity is spectacular, displaying visual details in the film that were never before perceptible. The newly remastered 7.1 soundtrack breathes new life and energy into the film. I am very much looking forward to audiences experiencing this film as they never have before.”

March 31st Monday (revered as the borrowed days in Ethiopian culture); Waxing Moon-First Quarter; Color association-Lavender; Moon sign-Aries; and the Incense of choice for today is Hyssop.

Today, March 31st, is the first of the festivals in honor of the Goddess Luna. Luna, is associated with moon magic, transformations, the psychic, and the feminine. She symbolizes the heavenly embodiment of the moon. She is often presented as the female complement of the Sun (Sol) conceived of as a god. Luna is not always a distinct goddess, but sometimes rather an epithet that specializes a goddess, since both Diana and Juno are identified as moon goddesses as well making the aspect of Luna the drawing force of feminine divinity and a powerful force in both the natural and supernatural realm.

Luna's attributes are the crescent moon and the two-yoke chariot (biga). In the Carmen Saeculare, performed in 17 BC, Horace invokes her as the "two-horned queen of the stars" (siderum regina bicornis), bidding her to listen to the girls singing as Apollo listens to the boys. A festival in Her honor was held on March 31st. In Her temple on Aventine Hill in Rome, the cover was removed from the labyrinth passage to the Underworld, to allow the spirits of the dead to roam free. The temple was destroyed by the Great Fire of Rome in the year 64 C.E.
Sacrifices to Luna were held at this time on the Graecostasis; and the first of three days when the mysterious ritual pit called the mundus was opened. (I guess it goes without saying that if this holiday is one to incorporate in your modern spiritual calendar of festivals then the sacrifices should be symbolic.) The temple of the moon goddess Luna on Aventine Hill was the site of worship, feasting, and wild dancing orgies. The untamed character of those abandoned revelries was the source of our word 'lunatic'. As the Goddess of the moon, Luna is associated with witches with moon magic, transformations, the psychic and all things feminine. She represents growing awareness, the fulfillment of love, and the mystery of enchantment. She is often pictured with a crescent Moon on her head. Since she is also known as the bringer of light, she is shown carrying a torch in her hand.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

“Lucky” is a modern twist-of-fate horror short from Jakob Bilinski which focuses on a young woman facing a would-be attacker in a library late at night. The film was created as part of an expanded project titled Unscripted: An Indie Film Xperience . “Lucky” stars Louisa Torres, Dillon Schueller and was filmed in the Owensboro,. Ky library in 8 hours.

The film has a clever story told in a very simple format with a minimalist style. Two characters, one setting and a twist with a horrifically cool ending. The quality and feel of “Lucky” is pretty quality work, exceeding the standard low budget quality you would expect. The script is a fun, dark tale that could easily be expanded into a much larger film surrounding Torres character. It was entertaining and atmospheric. The twist ending was one I kind of expected but the nature of the twist was not something I expected. Fate sometimes has a sinister, otherworldly heavy hand to strike someone down.

The effects are very minimal with most of the film hanging on story, suspense, and anticipation. With clever elements meant to direct the viewer one way that is both predictable and exciting only to spin it into the much more anticipated but unexpected was executed well. Jakob Bilinski manages to create a film that, from start to finish, holds the audience and even begs for expansion. At least as the final moments ended and the credits rolled I imagined it as just an intro to something bigger.

“Curse Of The Dragon Slayer” is a fantasy adventure film directed by David Lyde and starring Danielle Chuchran (Body of Proof), Richard McWilliams, Paul D. Hunt and James C. Morris in a middle earth/other-realm styled quest. The film follows an unlikely trio as they ban together to defeat an ultimate evil infecting the kingdom. Keltus, a knight of the ruling Order is on the trail of the Shadow Cabal -- a group of Orc cultists. Keltus recruits Neymt, the elf bounty hunter and the infamous Orc raider, Kullimon. Incidentally this film was going by the name “Curse Of The Shadow Cabal”.

The story for “Curse Of The Dragon Slayer” is one that I am not familiar with but the company behind the film is also responsible for games and other movies in this ilk. I say that just to let it be known that fantasy adventure films are not my forte and although I find them entertaining they are not a world or mythos that I contemplate enough to have a personal checks-n-balances to validate what I the film intends. So my review is solely on this film’s value and merit alone. The good thing about “Curse Of The Dragon Slayer” is you don’t really have to be that familiar with this world or they encompassing storyboard to enjoy the movie. The quality of the acting, direction and story arch offer a pretty entertaining fantasy adventure with cool character dynamics that press beyond the cliché that is this genre’s burden. The fact that the story combines unlikely characters as heroes is a plus. At times the burden of cliché does hinder the concept’s plausibility (If you develop your characters to a set standard then they will hardly band together for a common goal-in my opinion). However that notion didn’t stop me from enjoying this movie and guess what?, I found myself favoring the Orc more than the Elf and Human.

The special effects and creature make-up is pretty quality with an obvious attention to respect for the genre present from the creators. There are elements of CGI within “Curse Of The Dragon Slayer” but the film isn’t co-dependent upon them and there are far more practical effects utilized. The atmosphere and cinematography for this one is pretty stellar with some beautiful scenes framed by awesome scenery and design. The film took all the things I loved about the Tolkein films and combined it with a classic feel of one of my favorite fantasy films “The Beast Master” in a well crafted and nicely executed story. I found “Curse OF The Dragon Slayer” very entertaining and I think it works for all ages.